Samsung Galaxy S4 Battery Life: Early Tests Show Promise

The Samsung Galaxy S4 release date won’t come until late April but already the device has been seen in the hands of several users. And while that means sample photos and previews of software features, it also means that we already have our first glimpse at the battery life of the Samsung Galaxy S4 ahead of its release.

Earlier this month, Samsung introduced the Samsung Galaxy S4, its successor to the Galaxy S3, which will be bringing a larger screen, a faster processor, a more recent version of Jelly Bean and new Samsung software features to consumers around the globe. The device won’t be released until late April, at least in the United Kingdom, but that hasn’t stopped users from getting their hands on a Galaxy S4.

So far, the Galaxy S4 battery life looks good.

Already, we’ve seen samples taken with its camera, a look at the new and improved camera software and now, we are getting a first look at how the Galaxy S4 battery life stacks up against the competition.

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One of the big question that consumers have when buying a smartphone is about a phone’s battery life. With the Samsung Galaxy S4, the company has packed in a massive 2,600 mAh battery, much larger than the Galaxy S3’s battery, which it hopes can handle all of the 4G LTE speeds and 1080p content that users can throw at it.

GSMArena has managed to go hands-on with the a Galaxy S4 ahead of its upcoming release date and has posted some preliminary battery life test results for the GT-9505, a device that features the quad-core Qualcomm 600 quad-core processor, the same processor that is headed to the variants coming to AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and U.S. Cellular in the United States.

The other version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 comes with a Exynos 5 Octa processor that has eight cores but only utilizes four at a time. Test results for that device remain unseen.

The tests see the device’s 2,600 mah battery put through three different uses. The first, a call test where the device beats the Samsung Galaxy S3 but fails to topple another 5-inch smartphone, the Sony Xperia Z.

Galaxy S4 battery life talk time test.

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Another test pitted the Galaxy S4 against the competition as far as battery life when it comes to web browsing. Only a few devices were able to beat it, including the iPhone 5 and HTC One.

Galaxy S4 web browsing test.

And finally, a video playback test where the Galaxy S4 puts up good marks but still is not the best of the best. Overall though, the Galaxy S4 ranks, in these very preliminary tests, ranks up there with the best of them which is fantastic given the power and size of its display. Displays are often a main source of battery drain so it’s good to see that the battery can handle it.

Galaxy S4 video playback test.

That said, those expecting the Galaxy S4 to feature the best battery life of any smartphone will likely want to temper their expectations. It’s going to be good but not the very best.

Those that need extra juice will of course have the option to install an extended battery inside the Galaxy S4 which will give it a boost. From the looks of things though, that may not be necessary.

I have the RAZR maxx and am a power superuser and I have to say not having to plug in constantly or buy an extended battery is now my primary interest following functionality and interface. I won’t go back to quick burning batteries. My wife’s Iphone is constantly deceased or dying.